


Love in the Time of Dragons

by C_R_Fords



Series: Love Amongst Dragons [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), How to Train Your Dragon: Race to The Edge - Fandom
Genre: Adventure, Awkward Romance, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Light fury, Love Confessions, M/M, Oops, Plot, Protective Hiccup, Protective Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon), Race To The Edge, Reader Insert, Slow Burn, Smut, The Burn Might Not Be Very Slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:27:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29258172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C_R_Fords/pseuds/C_R_Fords
Summary: With Berk's new Dragon Health Center able to smoothly function without you it was time to get back to the riders. After almost a year away you were thrilled to rejoin the group on Dragons Edge. Almost immediately upon your return word came from the Berserkers Northern Settlement that a high-profile auction was set to take place on The Continent. A supposed mysterious dragon was the prized item up for bid, attracting the most powerful and wealthy buyers from island to archipelago. Still trying to adjust back to life as a dragon rider, although to be fair you didn't even have a dragon, you now followed Hiccup and the gang on the most perilous journey of your young lives.
Relationships: Dagur the Deranged/Ruffnut Thorston, Gobber the Belch/Stoick the Vast, Heather/Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Reader, Light Fury/Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon)
Series: Love Amongst Dragons [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148543
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. Return to The Edge

**Author's Note:**

> So... How to Train Your Dragon was on cable, then I discovered they'd made a TV show, then I watched it all, now I have the self-serving and incurable urge to write this.
> 
> Takes place around season 4ish of Race to the Edge but won't exactly follow the plot of the show. I am going to include the light fury in this because how could I not when she is the baddest bitch around. 
> 
> Not beta'd because it's my last minute late night brainchild.

This was easily the farthest you’d been from Berk. You and the riders had been flying for days with minimal rest and it was wearing on everyone’s nerves. You could tell Hiccup was barely holding it together as he scolded Astrid and Snotlout for their constant bickering

“For the love of Thor would you both please shut up!” Hiccup snapped and you felt the tension in his shoulders from where you sat behind him astride toothless.

“You alright?” You murmured quietly in his ear

“Yeah, I just don’t know what’s gotten into the two of them” he sighed. “Sure they’ve always fought but seems like it’s getting out of hand now”

“Have you tried talking to them?”

“Snotlout is... well he’s Snotlout. And things with Astrid are still a little tense.” he trailed off uncomfortably as he threw her and stormfly a glance

“Ah I see, well if you want I don’t mind checking in on her during our next break” you offered

“That’d be great, always a life saver” he chuckled.

As a comfortable silence settled your mind wandered. It was probably about time to start scouting acceptable islands for your next camp out anyways, so after dinner would probably be the best time to see what was going on with Astrid. You were a little nervous yourself, while the two of you didn’t necessarily but heads, you were never the closest of friends.

Pulled from your thoughts at a particularly hard gust of wind you tighten your arms around Hiccup who glances back with a small smile. “Still not used to it yet?”

“Nope, you’d think I’d be a natural after spending more time with dragons than humans for an entire year”

It wasn’t that you’d never flown on a dragon. Sure you had ridden with Toothless and Hiccup plenty of times, or occasionally on someone else’s dragon. But you weren’t used to rides this intense nor this long. Back when you were living on Dragons Edge with everyone you took on more of the base guard and medic role. Ensuring your homes were protected and everybody's injuries were looked after. After a few nasy burns and near amputations you had put your foot down and thrown together a makeshift med bay, closely studying all you could decipher of Gothi’s notes and journals.

You also played a big role in helping Hiccup with his inventions and Fishlegs with dragon research. Taking the more grounded support role just made sense for you, as everyone slowly built trusted bonds with their own dragons none had really ever caught your eye. You saw the way Hiccup looked at Toothless and it was something you desperately desired. Sure the other riders had special relationships with their dragons as well, but there was something about Hic and Tooth.

It wasn’t the owner-pet impression you sometimes felt with the Twins and Snotlout, nor even the fierce friendship you noticed Fishlegs and Astrid had with their dragons.

Hiccup found something special, he and Toothless were brothers. Unflinchingly loyal to each other beyond reason and doubt, when you watched them fly it was as if they were one entity. Of course you would have that unrealistic expectation for yourself, so instead of settling for something that was fine but just not quite right, you waited.

Luckily spending the past year building and running Berks new Dragon Health Center and Nursery kept you plenty busy. Usually all day and sometimes into the night, so the lack of dragon hadn’t been bothering you as much as it used to. But now with all this time in the sky spent with Hic and Tooth the familiar ache was starting to return. 

Queen Mala was kind enough to lend you one of her healers from Caldera who spent the better part of a year teaching you everything she knew. After finding a comfortable rhythm and hardworking staff you’d decided it was time to start rejoining the riders on missions sporadically. Splitting your time between berk and the edge.

You were happy to do so because you missed your best friend dearly. Hiccup dropped by Berk as often as he could, visiting you and checking in on the center but it wasn’t as often as you both liked. Having to rely on Stoick or Gobber to know how hiccup was doing had started wearing on you.

This was your first serious mission and the nerves still hadn’t gone away after a week of flying. It has been a while, you reasoned with yourself, still scanning the surrounding skyline for a suitable island then resting your gaze fondly on Toothless' tail.

You’d never spent this much time away from Hiccup in your entire lives and now that you were back it was strange. Not that you’d grow apart, if anything you felt closer than ever, the distance only making you realize how much of a pillar he was in your life. It was just odd to relearn each other's mannerisms and quirks, noticing the small and big things that had gradually changed when you aren’t with someone every day. 

He had gotten taller, filled out with a bit more muscle. Instead of lanky your brain now helpfully characterized him as lean or lithe. His face somewhat sharper and stronger, hair longer and messier. But you could alway count on his eyes, sharply green and always twinkling when he looked at you. 

When you looked into his eyes you saw the scrawny little eight year old helping you off the boat at Berks port. You’d been scared, exhausted, and soaked to the bone. Little Hiccup had offered his hand and immediately wrapped a warm cloak around your shoulders, offering you a small smile and introducing himself as “Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, son of the Chief.” The memory brought a megawatt smile to your face and you couldn’t help but settle a little closer to him in the saddle.

“Alright gang, that little island to the East looks like a good place for us to stop for the night” Hiccup says, slightly altering the course of the group towards a lush green island.

“Thank god, another hour smelling Tuff and I would’ve voluntarily thrown myself into the ocean” Ruff plugged her nose with her fingers, leanin as far away as one can on the two headed zippleback.

“Oh please that smell isn’t me it’s you! You smelly she-beast!” Tuff shot back.

“How about we compromise, you both smell terrible” you joked, earning chuckles from the rest of the riders. 

Hiccup sighed deeply and then in his most chief-like voice addressed the group, “Alright everyone, we obviously need a breather so we’ll land over there on the island's southern beach, then everyone take a few minutes to rest and tend to your dragons.”  
“After that we can regroup, set up camp, then go over the flight plans for tomorrow, sound okay?”

Everyone murmured their agreements, too tired to make any snide comments or complaints.

The air ruffled your hair as Toothless started his slow descent onto a nice patch of grass bordering the sand. You watched Hiccup as he hopped off and let out a long groan while stretching his stiff muscles. Attempting not to let your eyes linger too long you hopped off Toothless doing some stretching of your own. You let out a satisfied humm as your joints popped. Turning to say something to Hiccup, you saw his eyes already on you and a slight blush on his cheeks. 

“What? Is there something on my face?” you joked

“Oh, uh no nothing, sorry” he stammered, suddenly very interested in the grass at your feet.

Doing a scan of the area you noticed all the riders spread out on the beach. Still able to see eachother but far enough to have a little quiet and privacy. A slight wave of uncertainty settled in your gut. _Did Hiccup what some alone time with Tooth? Were you bothering him with your constant presence directly behind him? Was he getting tired of you?_

“Hey Hic, I can go take a little walk if you’d like some time alone with Toothless?” you offered trying to give him a casual smile “It can’t be easy having someone else on the saddle all the time”

He gave you a confused look, “We love having you? I mean Tooth loves you so much I might start getting jealous” he joked as his dragon let out a purr, nuzzling against your side. 

“Unless you need a little time to yourself! Which we definitely would understand. I mean you must get tired of being stuck with us all day” he said sheepishly.

“No I’m perfectly happy where I am” you responded, a playful grin planted across your lips.

The next few minutes were spent feeding and watering toothless as you gave him a basic once over. The dragon had gotten a pretty deep cut on his side that morning from a stray monstrous nightmare horn. Once everything was cleaned and healing nicely you and Hiccup left Toothless with a pile of fish as you went to gather the group.

Once together Hiccup gave out jobs for camp setup and everyone scattered to complete their assigned task quickly. You’d been paired with Astrid to collect firewood. _I guess now’s as good a time as any to talk to her._

“So… Astrid, How are things going?”

“Uh fine, why?” she asked suspiciously

“Oh no reason” you flinched as your voice rose an octave in your pathetic attempt to act casual. “Just wanted to check in, y’know, see how you’ve been doing, what you’ve been up to”

Astrid interrupted your rambling, “Hiccup asked you to talk to me didn’t he?”

You cringed at her flat tone. “Ah, what gave it away?”

“Oh please” Astrid rolled her eyes her voice grew icy as she continued “and besides, he doesn’t get to worry about me anymore”

“Astrid, he still cares about you, of course he’s going to worry”

“Look, you don’t get to waltz back in here and try to tell me ‘of course he cares about you’ after being gone for almost a year” 

“I’m sorry Astrid, honestly I’m not really sure what happened between the two of you so I shouldn't've overstepped, but I am here if you ever need to talk.” you offered sincerely.

“Thanks I appreciate that, and I’m sorry too I didn’t mean to snap. I am surprised Hiccup hasn’t talked about what happened, you two seem to tell eachother everything” she said with a calculating look on her face.

“Oh, uh to be honest I haven’t really asked? I heard from Gobber after he heard from Stoick. I didn’t really know how to bring it up? Can’t say I haven’t been wondering though”

Astrid paused for a minute, carefully debating her next words. “Look, it was rough for me because it was so unexpected. Usually I’m the girl who’s prepared for anything but this knocked me on my ass”

“What happened?” you asked, intrigued.

“In short, I told him I loved him and he told me he’d been planning on dumping me” you flinched, _wow that does sound pretty rough._ “He told me that for him I would only ever be a friend. I’d always just thought he wasn’t a very romantic or affectionate person, but in that moment a lot of things made sense that I should’ve picked up on before.” She finished looking slightly dejected.

That didn’t make any sense to you. In your experience Hiccup was a very affectionate person, over the years it was something you’d come to appreciate about him. A head on your shoulder, the way he softly smiled when you ruffled his hair, the young hopeful smile on his face every time his father proudly clapped him on the back. You knew some of it probably stemmed from growing up without Valka, or in your case being orphaned with little memories of home. 

Trying to lighten the mood you said “Well, with all that pigtail pulling today I’m willing to bet Snotlout is still more than happy to keep you company during the long cold nights” giving her arm a playful nudge.

Letting out a snort Astrid “Okay that is disgusting and never going to happen” Astrid replied

Both with arms full of firewood you decided it was time to head back. Once regrouped everybody got to work getting set up. After a dinner of fish, a few of which had suspiciously dragon shaped tooth marks, Hiccup wanted to run through the plan one more time before tomorrow.

“Okay so we should reach the continent by early afternoon tomorrow. Our first step is to find the rendezvous point and drop off the dragons safely. Last I spoke with Dagur he and Heather are building their outpost on a small peninsula of the continent. Should be a straight shot from this island.”

“Did he or Heather have any more information about the auction? Like what kind of Dragon it is or even a classification?” Fishlegs asked.

“Nope, all we know is that it’s attracted some of the wealthiest trappers around and that it’ll be up for auction in a few days. Last terror mail I got from them they said we’d talk more about the specific plans when we arrived.” Hiccup finished.

“Tactics wise I think since tomorrow’s journey is gonna take us through areas that might be more populated we should maintain a v- formation the whole flight” Astrid suggested.

“Yeah I think that’s a great idea. Anyone else have any more questions or ideas before we all head to bed? He waited a beat, looking around the group.

“I do!” you exclaimed “This is our first time on the continent, so I propose after we finish the mission we stay a little longer, for… cultural exploration”

“Cultural exploration” Hiccup repeated skeptically.

“Yeah, see the markets, local hangouts, try the cuisine?” you trailed off with a hopeful look on your face.

“Yeah you’re working us to the bone Princess! If we don’t get a break Hookfang and I are gonna revolt.” Snotlout shouted

“You know it might be a good idea to explore the area a bit, see if they have any dragon knowledge we might not know about, maybe make some new trade allies for Berk” Fishlegs added. 

“Vacation, Vacation! Oy, Oy, Oy!” Snotlout chanted.

“Okay, okay, settle down everyone” Hiccup placated, attempting to wrangle the group back together. “It seems like spending a little time exploring the continent could be a good idea, we can talk more about specifics after we complete the mission. Now, try to get a good night's sleep guys, tomorrows a big day.”

The sleeping arrangements were another change that took getting used to. Everyone slept next to their Dragons for warmth, which again left you at a disadvantage. Not thinking it was a huge deal you decided to just find a spot by yourself the first night. Hiccup told you it wasn’t a good idea to sleep on your own but you didn’t listen. Long after sunset when the temperature dropped sharply your stubbornness kept you from admitting he was right. It wasn’t until your shivering woke Snotlout from his snores that Hic finally just had toothless come to you. From that night on you slept under the Night Fury’s wing.

Tonight was different though, with Toothless having an injured side you and Hiccup wouldn’t be able to each sleep under one spread wing. Not wanting to deal with the uncomfortable shuffling that would ensue you decided to just ask Hiccup.

“So what should we do for sleeping tonight? I don’t want toothless to put any pressure on his left side.”

“Yeah I thought about that, I figured tonight maybe we just share one wing? Together?” Hiccup suggested, running long fingers through his ruffled brown hair.

“Sure Hic, sounds good” you replied 

“Okay, you take the side closest to Toothless, it’ll be warmer” 

“Oh wow a gentleman and a prince” you sarcastically retorted, climbing under the outstretched wing anyways.

“Uh huh what can I say, I’m the total package” he played along, preening as he settled himself next to you. A hot line running from your shoulder to hip where he was snugly pressed against your side. 

“Night Hic” you whispered sleepily, the days exhaustion finally catching up to you

You felt a warm fur being spread over the two of you. “Goodnight... I’m glad your back” was the last thing you heard before drifting off to sleep.

_It was hot, scorchingly unbearably hot. Sweat was dripping down your body, looking up you see a glistening Hiccup poised over you. With a hungry look in his green eyes he leaned down ever so slowly, softly running the tip of his nose from the hollow of your throat down the valley of your full chest, stopping to leave soft kisses around your navel. You let out an involuntary shiver causing a deep chuckle to vibrate through Hiccup's chest. Looking up from between your legs he caressed the softness of your stomach, leaning closer and closer to your face until the feeling of his hot breath was on your lips. Just as you leaned in for a kiss he bypassed your mouth. Sharply nibbling your earlobe his hands came up to trail over your nipples. “Oh Hiccup, don’t stop” you moaned, grinding back and forth to get any friction possible, letting out frustrated little groans as you just couldn’t quite get the angle right._

Gasping awake you opened your eyes to be met with the expanse of Toothless’ exposed stomach. Feeling a heavy arm tightly wrapped around your waist and a leg fitted between your own you realized at some point in the night Hiccup had rolled over and attached himself to you. His shaggy brown hair tickled your neck and slow exhails warmed your chest. You felt slight thrusting motions coming from Hiccup as something hard ground against your hip. Trying to hold back a moan as his leg situated itself more firmly between your own.

His grinding grew more insistent, you turned your head to see him let out a series of small needy pants, he then opened his mouth and whispered your name. You froze as white hot pleasure throbbed in your slit, unable to keep your body from softly bucking into him. Any worries that you’d misheard him went out the window when he groaned your name again, louder than the last time. All you wanted to do was clamp your legs around his thigh and chase that sweet friction but you had enough sense to know it wouldn’t be right. Hic was asleep and even if he was moaning your name, which was an earth-shattering reality on it’s own, he was still asleep.

_Okay what should I do? Can’t wake him up because that’s too embarrassing. Shouldn’t keep humping his leg like a Gronckle in heat because okay that’s equally embarrassing. Maybe I can wait it out?_

You lie there on your back trying to keep still as his thigh pressed between your leg, harder and harder with each thrust. He shifted slightly, probably looking for a better angle, which caused his thigh to press right against your clit making you let out an involuntary moan and chase the feeling with your hips.

As Hiccups breathing changed you instantly froze, closed your eyes, and tried to keep still. You felt the moment he became conscious, his entire body stiffened and he let out a surprised gasp. Trying not to wake you he gingerly attempted to create space between the crease of your hip and his swollen cock. 

Now that he was awake and thought you were still sleeping you were feeling much less worked up about the whole ordeal. The heat coursing through your veins making you a little wild and reckless. So as Hiccup tried to slowly pull away and slip his thigh out from between your legs you rolled with him, making fake sleepy little noises as you went. Eventually settling your head on his chest with a soft sigh. He froze, not knowing how to create some distance without waking you but still achingly hard. Deciding it wasn't worth the risk he wound his arms around you shifting into a more comfortable position. Feeling his embrace you smiled to yourself and drifted off to sleep again, trying to quell your nerves about what tomorrow would bring.


	2. Thorny Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mostly world-building filler, I don't have a set length for this fic but I'm planning on it being fairly long. There is a nice dash of adorably concerned hiccup and we see some good Reader-Astrid interaction.
> 
> content warning: blood, minor injury
> 
> Feel free to comment with opinions, constructive criticism, or even suggestions!

“Looks like someone was busy last night eh”

“Shut up snotface you’re gonna wake them up”

“Yeah Jorgenson don’t ruin the show”

“Gross, I cannot believe you’re my brother”

“For the love of Odin would you all shut the fuck up” you groaned, still groggy you cracked an eye, met with the group of riders gawking at you. 

With a huff you went to lay back down, not ready to leave the cocoon of warmth you’d been sleeping in. But as soon as your head hit the ground something was off. Your pillow was moving, slowly up and down against your ear. Strong arms wound back around you and a gruff voice rumbled “no c’mback to bed” tightening their hold around your shoulders. 

“Uh Hic I think it’s probably time to get up” you said, not surprised at his tactile nature. He’d been a snuggler since you were kids, always finding yourselves in this position after a late night reading Gothi’s old journals or sneaking books from Gobbers library. But to be fair it had been a pretty long time since that happened, and nothing like last night had ever occurred during one of your impromptu sleepovers.

The five pairs of eyes on you went from varying degrees of amused to very surprised. No matter the scrawny village pariah Hiccup had been before the dragons, he was their leader now, and it wasn’t common for them to see him in such an intimate moment.

“Oh uh hey guys I was just… well it was really cold last night and Toothless’ side is hurt so… and you know how cold this girl over here gets…” he trailed off, looking at you with pink cheeks and panic in his eyes.

Deciding to try and defuse the situation for him you sat up slowly and gave Hiccup an easy grin. “How about I go make a real breakfast for everyone? I saw a few chickens running around the island last night.” Tuffnut let out a loud gasp, giving you a betrayed glare.

“Eggs, Tuff, I’m going to look for eggs!”

“I’ll come help you, four eyes are better than two” said Astrid, who had largely remained quiet during the excitement of the morning.

Your stomach dropped. _Obviously she’s pissed, right? I mean just yesterday she opened up to me about her breakup with Hic and now everyone wakes up to find us sleeping closer than a hideous zippleback. Speaking of Hiccup, what's even going on with us? I guess that something to try and process after breakfast_

Wandering off into the forest together you and Astrid stayed relatively close, looking around bushes and up in low hanging trees for small nests or eggs. After a few minutes of mildly tense silence Astrid broke first.

“I’m not mad y’know, I don’t want you to think I’m upset with you”

You were taken off guard with her words and not knowing how to respond you simply looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

“Of course it still hurts, but it's good closure. Seeing you together… makes me think I can finally move on”

“Whoah woah woah Astrid I think you might be misunderstanding what you saw this morning.” You didn’t want others to assume the nature of your relationship with Hiccup when the two of you didn’t even have it figured out.

“It was just cold and Hiccup’s like a kraken in his sleep. You know.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know” she said meaningfully. “Hiccup and I dated for over a year and never once did I feel as close to him as you guys looked this morning”

“We’ve been friends for a long time Astrid, you’re bound to grow close after spending your whole life with someone” you reasoned 

Astrid, sensing your denial, went in for the kill.

“Look, I’m not telling you how to live your life, I’m just saying what I saw this morning is what I always wanted with Hiccup and never had.” You flinched at the harshness of her words. 

“After you left to start the center, he changed, it was like a piece of him was gone. I told myself for a long time that he was just adjusting to life without you and it wasn’t a big deal but… it wasn’t healthy. He obsessively threw himself into any work he could, tracking down hunters, rescuing dragons, his inventions, it was one thing after the next with no breaths in between.” 

Your eyes grew sad, an ache building in your chest. You thought of Hiccup every single day the two of you were apart. Simple things, what was he doing, how was Toothless, how much he would have enjoyed seeing the fledglings take their first flight, was he safe, was he thinking of you? In hindsight maybe you were a bit more obsessive than you’d realized.

“I had no idea, I didn’t think he missed me… that much” _missed me as much as I missed him_. “He had you and I.. I guess I just needed to figure out who I wanted to be.” _still haven’t cracked that one either_

Astrid’s eyes softened. “If it’s any consolation, you coming back has really loosened him up again. Hel, he’s even considering letting us vacation on the Continent after the mission.”

You offered her a shaky smile and pretended to continue searching for breakfast, in reality too lost in thought to pay any attention. This negligence led to a misstep and you found yourself tripping over some brambles, luckily catching your fall on both forearms. Immediately a stinging pain cut through your right arm, looking down to see dozens of sharp thorns scattered in your skin, leaking tiny streams of blood. _okay, ouch_

“Oh my Thor, are you okay?” Astrid worriedly looked you over, gaze stopping on your arm that was now steadily dripping blood.

“I think we might be having yak jerky for breakfast again” you grimaced.

Everyone was sitting around the fire and enjoying a little downtime before they had to pack. All eyes turned to the both of you when you entered the clearing, excited at the prospect of a warm meal before a long flight. Hiccup was the first to zero in on your pained expression and Astrid’s supportive stance. He swiftly rushed towards you, calling out your name. 

“What happened? Who did this?” He interrogated, replacing Astrid by your side and leading you over to lean on Toothless.

“Hic it’s okay, I’m really fine. And this is nobody’s fault but mine, I tripped” you said, trying to reassure him by shrugging nonchalantly. 

“Awe man does this mean no breakfast?” Ruffnut complained

“Yeah I’ll die if I have to eat yak jerky again” Snotlout whined.

“I will kill you myself if you don’t shut up right now” Hiccup hissed, eyes focusing on the blood that was dripping, now at a fairly steady pace, down your arm. 

“Okay why don’t we all give her some space.” _thank Odin, Astrid to the rescue_ “Hiccup I’ll bring you the med-bag, everyone else let’s get packed!” 

“Let me see your arm” Hiccup gently turned it over, wincing at all the thorns burrowed there. “How did you manage to trip and land on the worst possible spot in the entire forest?”

You hated seeing the tightness of worry dim his bright green eyes, hoping that giving off a positive attitude would soothe his concern. “It’s probably my cosmic punishment for taking Odin’s name in vain too many times.” 

Your joking did nothing to melt his tense demeanor. You used your good hand to turn his face towards yours and in a softer voice said “Hic, really I’m okay, I don’t want you to worry so much. It looks worse than it is.”

Turning his head into your hand appreciatively there were a million ways he wanted to respond. _It is a big deal, I never want to see you in pain, never want you to get hurt._ Instead he just said “I know, at least let me take care of it” _Let me take care of you._

You nodded and he took your arm, beginning the slow and painful process of removing each individual thorn. By the end you were freshly bandaged from elbow to wrist and awfully sore. Looking down both of you were covered in bloodstains and you felt guilty for ruining one of Hiccup's few outfits. 

“Thanks for patching me up Hic.” you said gratefully. 

“I’m happy to do it. That should be good enough for now but when we get to the outpost I want clean the wounds again and rebandage”

“Y’know I can probably do that myself Nurse Haddock”

“Just humor me, please”

“If you’re done playing doctor with frosty over there, we’re all ready to head out” Astrid shouted. 

“Yeah one second” he shouted back.

“You ready to go?” Hiccup looked at you, slight concern still in his eyes.

“Yeah I’m good, thanks again” you smiled. “I’d say I’ll try to be more careful next time, but we both know that’s not true.”

“A man can dream” he said, tightening Toothless’ saddle. “So, uh… I am trying not to be overbearing but I’m a little worried about your arm on the flight. If things get bumpy I don’t want you to open all the cuts again trying to hold on.”

“Yeah well what are you gonna do? Tie me to the saddle?” regretting your word choice instantly. _God why do I even open my cursed mouth._

Hiccups eyebrows shot to his hairline as a strange look came over his face. 

“Erm, no I was just thinking you’d ride in front, if it gets too windy or something you’ll be able to lean back on me.”

“Oh right, good thinking” you agreed, trying to look anywhere but at Hiccup.

With that you all mounted up and continued on the last leg of your long journey. Excitement filled the air, everyone looking forward to finally reaching the Northern Berserker Outpost.


	3. Journey to the Edge of the Continent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates from here should be more frequent, probably once or twice a week now that I've written ahead a bit.
> 
> Hope everyone is staying warm! Comments, suggestions, and constructive criticisms welcome!

The sun was bright and pillowy white clouds dotted a clear blue sky. You inhaled deeply, relishing the smell of fresh air and the salty taste of the sea. This was your happy place, you decided, with Toothless and Hiccup and the sky. Wherever that took you didn’t matter.

Growing up you’d definitely describe Hiccup as your better half, and with his standing in the village that was a strong statement. The pair of you loved to invent and discover, but with very different approaches. Hic was thoughtful, methodical, and usually responsible even if he sometimes bit off more than he could chew. You on the other hand… it’s not that you didn’t try to be careful but, sometimes you landed a little on the wrong side of recklessness. 

Once you got a bit older Stoick would joke that whoever left you afloat in that boat should have written a warning that you were not a child but in fact a wild animal. You’d get an idea then Hic would see the glint in your eyes that only meant trouble for him and the entire village. 

Leaning back in the saddle, shoulder blades brushing against his chest and eyes still on the sky, you spoke.

“Remember the time I thought I could get us up to that huge eyot in the middle of the great lake?” 

Hiccup groaned at the memory. “How could I forget! For some Thor forsaken reason you wanted to build a bridge, and once we got there the actual island was hundreds of feet high! It was insanity!”

“Hiccup I said it before and I’ll say it again, all we had to do was build stairs!” You shot back and turned to face him, getting worked up all over again. 

“It had to stop somewhere, everyone in town was going to be furious once they figured out where all their wood and yaks were going! Besides, what was the point of even going up there?! This wasn’t the first time he’d brought up this point.

Turning to face him you said, “I know, I know, you always told me there was nothing worth finding up there”

He gave you a fond smile before replying, “and you always told me that was the reason we were going, it would be an island just for me and you, nobody else.”

“Ah well I guess it didn’t really matter anymore, after the storm…” Your eyes grew sad, remembering that day. You had returned to the lake together after a monsoon, finding the rickety bridge and half constructed stairs destroyed. Sure in the grand scheme of your lives it was miniscule, but something about that moment... The way Hiccup held you as you cried, surrounded by the wreckage of all that hard work, it would always stick with you. 

“I still haven’t been back actually, now that Toothless is here it would be nice to finally see it” The Night Fury purred at the mention of his name. 

“Yeah” Hiccup agreed enthusiastically. “Next time we visit Berk, when this is all over, we’ll go.”

The tender sincerity in his words made your stomach flutter. You weren’t used to being this nervous around Hiccup, the subtle shift in your bond was starting to feel more substantial as the days passed. Sure maybe you could pass last night off as some accidental grinding between sleeping hormonal adolescents, but this was different. 

The past year was easily the most stressful of your life. You loved learning about dragons, their behaviour patterns and anatomical quirks. But after the excitement of building the Health Center wore off you felt stagnant. If you were honest with yourself Berk had always felt somewhat suffocating, it was one of the reasons you had found a kindred spirit in Hiccup. Without him Berk just didn’t feel right, he was your rock, your real home. So any prospect of change in your partnership, even if it could be for the better, was terrifying.

_Things are plenty busy right now without me pathetically pining for my best friend. I just need to keep my dignity intact through this mission, then I can sit Hiccup down and have a heart to heart like real vikings._

You were satisfied with what was, in your mind, a very mature plan.

Similar thoughts were running through the mind of the brunette behind you. Earlier’s conversation had stirred the same memory for him as it had for you. He remembered how devastating it was to see you cry that day. It wasn’t really about the bridge, it was the time spent building it together. Laughing when you inevitably slipped into the chilly lake below, draggin him with you of course. Your excited chatter had filled the air for hours, what you might see up there, what the two of you were going to build, how nobody would be able to bother you.

So, when your lip started to wobble and you quickly scrubbed away the few stray tears that leaked down your cheeks, he did the only thing he could. He wrapped his arms around you and let you cry, holding on until your sobs turned to light sniffles and your arms loosened from around his neck. 

Gods how had he not seen it before?

_I am the biggest idiot in the archipelago._

You were everything to him, always had been. Once the two of you entered your later teens he figured if you’d ever be interested in him he’d have picked up on a signal or two by now, and tried to settle with the fact that he would only ever have you as a friend. 

He was ashamed to admit that Astrid was there and for some bizarre reason interested in him, so he thought why not. Astrid was wonderful, she was confident and strong, she kept a level head and always thought things through. ‘The perfect viking woman’ his father had told him. But the longer their relationship lasted the more he knew it wasn’t right. She deserved better than a man who would always be thinking of someone else. 

He was, however, terrible at any sort of personal confrontation. Sure throw him in front of a hoard of dragon hunters and he’d fight any day, but breaking up with Astrid? No way in Hel did he know how to do that. In the end she forced his hand with her love confession, it was probably the most inopportune time possible but there was no way he could wait any longer. The brokenhearted look on her face made him sick to his stomach, but he knew it was the right thing to do. 

I can’t lose her but I have to take this chance or I’ll regret it forever. I just need to make it through this mission with a clear head, then after we get back I’ll tell her everything. I’ll tell her I love her. 

Unfortunately there was really nothing to do in the sky but think or amuse yourself with bothering Hiccup. Neither of you really knowing what to say after being sucked into childhood memories you decided to say quiet for a while. Of course being left to your own devices meant the first thing on your mind was last night. Maybe it was the new proximity to Hiccup that was setting you off. Being pressed against him all night and then now having him behing you on Toothless.

You didn’t think it would make that big of a difference, sitting in front instead of back. But before, you were in control of the closeness, and you tried not to press yourself too closely against Hic when riding. The exceptions being when the flying got particularly rough, which hadn’t happened too often. You didn’t want to seem nervous or clingy, just because it had been awhile since you’d ridden Toothless didn’t mean you were a shrinking violet. Thus, no matter how badly you wanted to wrap your arms around his skinny waist and melt comfortably into the warmth of his back, you maintained respectable space from Hiccup while riding behind him.

In the front of the saddle you felt surrounded by him, and it was putting you on edge. It was almost embarrassing, the way your body was reacting to his presence. Mouth dry and palms sweaty, your skin feels too tight as if it's eagerly awaiting the next accidental brush of arms or shoulders or thighs. He’d hit a growth spurt in your time apart, always a bit taller than you now it felt like he towered over you. His arms around you casually guided Toothless’ saddle, brushing against the round curve of your waist

A slight gust of wind surprised you, causing you to reflexively tighten your grip on Toothless. Your arm wasn’t really bothering you much, just the occasional twinge of pain but the sudden tensing of your muscles made you hiss out in discomfort and shrink back into Hiccup’s chest. 

He noticed this immediately and made the decision to wrap his arms more snugly around you. His grip adjusted high up on the saddle, pulling his shoulder lower. Now you could feel loose strands of hair tickle your neck.

“Is this alright?” His breath washed over your ear.

Suppressing a shiver you simply nodded, knowing he would feel it.

Your earlier resolve going by the wayside at his closeness you decided it couldn’t hurt to relax back into the cradle of his chest. The rhythmic beating of wings lulled you to sleep. 

Hiccup felt your body go slack against his chest as your head slowly rolled to rest on the column of his neck. It always amazed him, you really could fall asleep anywhere. Here you were, gliding through the air on a dragon thousands of feet above the ocean, softly snoring.

Taking a deep breath, he realized something was off. Sniffing the air again Hiccup caught the distinct scent of smoke. Now on high alert he signaled the group to silently take the dragons below the safety of cloud coverage.

The change in direction stirred you from your nap. You turned to ask Hiccup what was happening only to have him put a hand over your mouth and give you a look that universally read _please don’t say a fucking word_

As the clouds disappeared a fog of smoke filled the air, the lower you flew the thicker it became. Through the smog you could make out a fleet of ships ablaze. 

“Hey aren’t those dragon hunter ships?” said Ruffnut. 

“Look! She’s right, that’s their emblem on the mast” Fishlegs agreed.

“Everyone keep quiet and stay close while we figure out what’s going on here.” Hiccup led the group on Toothless, doing a sweeping circle around the burning wreckage. 

You scanned the scene, trying to piece together the utter chaos before you. A dozen ships were half aflame, half sunk, with screaming crewmembers trying to decide if they wanted to burn to death or drown. 

Somewhere in the smoke you caught a glint of something, something reflecting the flickering flames and moving with inhuman speed. As it sped closer a smile spread across your face in recognition

“Hic” you tugged on his sleeve. “Look, it’s Heather”

Windshear made a beeline for Toothless and you saw that Shattermaster wasn’t far behind. Hiccup immediately relaxed once Dagur and Heather reached the riders. 

“Brother! So great to see you! How was the flight over? Not too bumpy I hope” Dagur excitedly chattered at Hiccup.

“Looks like you guys are a bit late to the party” Heather teased. 

“You and Dagur did this on your own?!” Hiccup asked incredulously.

“Hel yeah we did!”

“Berserker Style!” 

“Well, I can't say I'm not impressed.” Admiration evident in Hiccups eyes.

“Yeah I mean I guess you guys did alright” Snotloud said.

“Oh Snot-hat you do care” Dagur dramatically clutched his hands to his heart. 

His eyes turned to you and a manic smile spread across his scarred face.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite honorary Berserker, I knew you wouldn’t be happy playing doctor on Berk forever”

You snorted, knowing there wasn’t any malice in his comment.

“Well what can I say, somebody has to keep Hiccup out of trouble”

“Sister don’t kid yourself, we all know it’s the other way around” Dagur finished off the sentence with a wink.

“Okay, I think that’s enough of that. We actually have things to do if you two are finished?” Hiccup snapped. You were a bit surprised at his suddenly sour tone. 

“We know you probably have a lot of questions, but let’s get to the base before we talk. It’s only about twenty minutes north, keep up if you can.” Heather shot you a wicked smirk and sped off on Windshear. 

You let yourself be caged by Hiccup as he changed his stance, speeding in pursuit with Toothless as the other riders followed your lead. 

_Is his grip rougher? Was he this close before?_

It felt as though he was pressing every part of himself as close to you as possible. You just tried to write it off, chalking it up to adrenaline and your lizard brain running wild. 

True to form, about twenty minutes later a single shape started to form on the horizon in front of the sliver of sun that had yet to set in the sky. 

Confusion set in as you finally saw it was only a tower. Sure it was tall and large, rather well built. But what Dagur had described was a whole city, scores of Berserkers relocating after their homes had burned in the dragon rider attacks. 

From a distance you could already tell it was highly defensible. Built on the edge of a peninsula, Facing the ocean were high jagged cliffs that dropped for at least a mile before they hit sandy shores. It looked like the only way to reach the tower by way of the continent was through an imposing mountain range. 

There was a large fire lit in the top of the tower, casting an amber glow over the landing pad below. Once you were safely grounded, all eyes turned questioningly to the siblings. You were the first to say something.

“Okay I think I speak for us all when I say, what the Hel?” Where’s the city? Where are all the people?”

“Settle down there sister, all will be revealed, just follow us”

Dagur and Heather were vibrating with poorly concealed anticipation as they led you through a stone path in the forest. Dense woods separated the landing pad from the sharp mountainside. 

_These woods definitely aren't large enough to fit the berserkers?_

After a short walk through the forest the stone trail abruptly ended. 

It was an odd picture, the edge of a stone path in a thick forest that led... nowhere? Except the area was far too clean, free of brush and weeds. A large, suspiciously smooth, rock was flanked by brightly lit braziers on either side. 

Excitement grew in your belly. “It’s here, isn't it!” You waved to the mountain wildly, eyes wide in wonder. You turned your frenzied gaze to Hiccup, a look of concentration and disbelief on his face. 

“You really think so? But how?” He questioned.

“Okay do either of you care to explain what kind of weird moment you’re having over there?” Astrid asked

“Don’t bother, they’re too busy with their nerdy foreplay to hear anyone else” 

“Snotlout! It’s not forpla- ugh you know what nevermind” 

Hiccup looked to Dagur. “You didn’t think to mention this in your terror mails?”

“And lose that adorable look of surprise on your faces? Not a chance”

“Windshear, Shattermaster, a little help please” Heather gestured to the dragons.

They trotted over to the large stone and slowly rolled it aside, revealing the large mouth of a damp, mossy cave.

Without preamble the siblings and their dragons entered and began a steady pace. Hanging lanterns periodically lit the way through, giving off a silvery glow. 

Upon reaching a large wooden door, somehow retrofitted into the cavern wall, Heather halted the group. At this point you were bursting at the seams with curiosity. You could hear the muffled sound of voices and movement beyond the door. 

Dagur stood in front of the riders with an excited gleam in his eyes. 

“Ladies, gentlemen... dragons, welcome to Berserker Cavern.”


End file.
